Keystone Kash Travel Tantrum Offends Closest U.S. Ally

FBI Director Kash Patel enraged a key intelligence ally by breaking a vital security assurance, raising further concerns about his suitability for the role.

Patel—nicknamed Keystone Kash for his haphazard approach to law enforcement—had promised the U.K.’s security service agency MI5 that a tech liaison role crucial to its work would be saved.

But, according to the New York Times, the job disappeared anyway—leaving MI5 officials ‘incredulous’ and alarmed about his reliability.

At a closed-door May summit of security chiefs in the Sussex countryside, MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum, 49, had pressed Patel to keep funding for a London-based FBI specialist who supports sensitive surveillance tech.

Veteran liaison posts—especially in London—are seen as crucial for daily joint work against spies and terrorists.

Patel agreed with the request, according to multiple U.S. officials cited by the Times—but the position had already been cut, and the agent was shipped back to the U.S., stunning British counterparts and deepening doubts about Patel’s word.

FBI Director Kash Patel stands silently during a press conference — Patel listens during a press conference on October 23, 2025 in New York City. His conduct on a trip to the U.K. is said to have raised serious eyebrows. Michael M. Santiago/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The U.S. and U.K. are two members of Five Eyes, a long-standing intelligence-sharing alliance that also includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Patel’s visit reportedly hit turbulence before touchdown, the Times claims. He was said to have requested that his flight be to a different airport nearer the summit hotel but British officials refused, citing security protocol, according to a former official and another person briefed on the exchange.

Director General of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum. — Director General of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum, had made a specific request of Patel, which Patel apparently failed to deliver on despite saying he would. JONATHAN BRADY/JONATHAN BRADY/PA WIRE/AFP via Getty Images

British security handlers also refused to let Patel’s personal detail carry guns after a risk assessment, with U.K. officials holding firm despite FBI pushback, the Times reported.

Patel also jarred attendees by arriving to high-level meetings in a trucker cap and green hoodie, the paper said.

Later, before departing the U.K., Patel, 45, and his girlfriend joined security and intelligence chiefs for a dinner at Windsor Castle with King Charles III, two former officials said—ending with a group photo in which Patel stood beside the king.

Kash Patel with his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, and U.S. President Donald Trump. — Kash Patel poses with his country singer girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, next to U.S. President Donald Trump. Instagram

This wasn’t an isolated miscue abroad. In July, Patel gifted replica 3D-printed pistols to New Zealand police and spy chiefs during the opening of a new FBI office in Wellington—only for authorities to deem them illegal and destroy them.

Back home, Patel has also faced a barrage over allegedly using a $60 million FBI jet for personal travel tied to his country singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, 27, prompting internal blowback at the agency.

The Daily Beast has contacted the FBI for comment.

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